2 Corinthians 12 (The Message)
7-10My grace is enough; it's all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness.
Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.
I had a great summer. Stephanie and I traveled over 5100 miles on our trip out west to Glacier National Park and Canada. We have taken these trips for the past 5 years. We have traveled to the Grand Canyon, California, South Carolina, Tennessee, and toured most of Michigan by motorcycle. We love it! Taking long motorcycle trips is like backpacking on wheels. We camp, we take back roads, and we see the fantastic sights of the country. It is our time to rest and refresh. We reconnect with each other after our busy schedules and we reconnect with God. God has had a very magical way of speaking to us on each of these trips. This year was no different.
We stayed the night just north of Little bighorn in Montana. We got up early and headed north to our final destination at West Glacier, MT. It was going to be a long day. If you have never been to Montana, I can't describe to you how desolate it is. Well, we were about 100 miles from Great Falls, Montana when I looked at my volt meter and noticed the Harley was losing voltage.......quickly. We were in the middle of nowhere. No houses, no cell phone service and no other vehicles on the road. When I first noticed the problem, I waited to tell Stephanie. I didn't want to ruin the great vacation and a great day. I instantly began to pray God would fix the bike. He didn't. At least he didn't fix it right away. Well I finally told Stephanie and now we had two people fervently praying. To tell you how worried we were, it was Saturday afternoon, July 3rd of 4th of July weekend. I had no idea if there was a Harley dealer in Great Falls, but I was pretty confident they wouldn't be open on a Holiday weekend. I had already made up my mind that we would have to get a Hotel for a couple of days in Great Falls (if we made it there.) and wait until we could get some way to fix the bike. I could feel the tension the closer we got to Great Falls. Both Stephanie and I were praying that God would provide us with a solution. We really didn't have a good plan. The voltage kept dropping and was down to about 10 volts just outside of Great Falls. I was afraid to even slow down, thinking if the motorcycle died, it would never start again. We pulled in to Great Falls. I had no idea where to even go. I made a quick decision just to go left. I didn't know why. I had no idea where to begin looking for a Harley Shop, Hotel, or assistance of some type. God was in charge. Not even two blocks into Great Falls I saw a Harley Dealer sign. That was a great relief. I thought, well at least we have a place to take it on Monday or more than likely Tuesday after the Holiday. As I got closer to the Harley Dealer. I noticed it was open. A sign out front and a huge crowd indicated they were having a 30 year celebration. Wow! So I thought, maybe I can get someone to take a look at it. I knew the chance the service department was open, was slim to none. We walked into the showroom, asked if they knew someone who could look at the bike, they said, just go to the service department. THEY WERE OPEN! PRAISE GOD!
About 4 hours later and several hundred $$$, we were back on the road. We enjoyed the great music, free food, and the quick work of the service department to fit us into their schedule. It was truly amazing. It was truly God!
I wish I could say I was like Paul and took the "Bad Break" in stride. I wish I could say I was glad for it to happen. I was a wreck physically and mentally at the end of that day. I had no idea what to do, but God did. God has taken care of Stephanie and I for the 32 years we've been together. He has answered a whole lot more than the prayers to fix a motorcycle. It is always at the lowest point, the point of my greatest weakness, that he provides the strength. We are weak, but he is strong! Christ took over and worked his miracle. Praise God
Lord, I am ashamed of my weakness and lack of faith. You, however, are always faithful. I can look back on my life and see your mighty hand at every turn, at every low point, and every miracle. I praise you Lord for the grace you provide and the great love you have for this sinner. I praise you for the strength you provide in my weakness. Thank You! Lord! Amen!
My strength comes into its own in your weakness.
Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.
I had a great summer. Stephanie and I traveled over 5100 miles on our trip out west to Glacier National Park and Canada. We have taken these trips for the past 5 years. We have traveled to the Grand Canyon, California, South Carolina, Tennessee, and toured most of Michigan by motorcycle. We love it! Taking long motorcycle trips is like backpacking on wheels. We camp, we take back roads, and we see the fantastic sights of the country. It is our time to rest and refresh. We reconnect with each other after our busy schedules and we reconnect with God. God has had a very magical way of speaking to us on each of these trips. This year was no different.
We stayed the night just north of Little bighorn in Montana. We got up early and headed north to our final destination at West Glacier, MT. It was going to be a long day. If you have never been to Montana, I can't describe to you how desolate it is. Well, we were about 100 miles from Great Falls, Montana when I looked at my volt meter and noticed the Harley was losing voltage.......quickly. We were in the middle of nowhere. No houses, no cell phone service and no other vehicles on the road. When I first noticed the problem, I waited to tell Stephanie. I didn't want to ruin the great vacation and a great day. I instantly began to pray God would fix the bike. He didn't. At least he didn't fix it right away. Well I finally told Stephanie and now we had two people fervently praying. To tell you how worried we were, it was Saturday afternoon, July 3rd of 4th of July weekend. I had no idea if there was a Harley dealer in Great Falls, but I was pretty confident they wouldn't be open on a Holiday weekend. I had already made up my mind that we would have to get a Hotel for a couple of days in Great Falls (if we made it there.) and wait until we could get some way to fix the bike. I could feel the tension the closer we got to Great Falls. Both Stephanie and I were praying that God would provide us with a solution. We really didn't have a good plan. The voltage kept dropping and was down to about 10 volts just outside of Great Falls. I was afraid to even slow down, thinking if the motorcycle died, it would never start again. We pulled in to Great Falls. I had no idea where to even go. I made a quick decision just to go left. I didn't know why. I had no idea where to begin looking for a Harley Shop, Hotel, or assistance of some type. God was in charge. Not even two blocks into Great Falls I saw a Harley Dealer sign. That was a great relief. I thought, well at least we have a place to take it on Monday or more than likely Tuesday after the Holiday. As I got closer to the Harley Dealer. I noticed it was open. A sign out front and a huge crowd indicated they were having a 30 year celebration. Wow! So I thought, maybe I can get someone to take a look at it. I knew the chance the service department was open, was slim to none. We walked into the showroom, asked if they knew someone who could look at the bike, they said, just go to the service department. THEY WERE OPEN! PRAISE GOD!
About 4 hours later and several hundred $$$, we were back on the road. We enjoyed the great music, free food, and the quick work of the service department to fit us into their schedule. It was truly amazing. It was truly God!
I wish I could say I was like Paul and took the "Bad Break" in stride. I wish I could say I was glad for it to happen. I was a wreck physically and mentally at the end of that day. I had no idea what to do, but God did. God has taken care of Stephanie and I for the 32 years we've been together. He has answered a whole lot more than the prayers to fix a motorcycle. It is always at the lowest point, the point of my greatest weakness, that he provides the strength. We are weak, but he is strong! Christ took over and worked his miracle. Praise God
Lord, I am ashamed of my weakness and lack of faith. You, however, are always faithful. I can look back on my life and see your mighty hand at every turn, at every low point, and every miracle. I praise you Lord for the grace you provide and the great love you have for this sinner. I praise you for the strength you provide in my weakness. Thank You! Lord! Amen!
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